Familiar Brush Strokes
by viper209n
Summary: Post-finale. Sandy and Kirsten go out for date night.


_**Author's Note** : Happy Thanksgiving! I wanted to give everyone an early Chrismukkah gift. My mother and I went and did this so I thought I could send Sandy and Kirsten to do the same thing. :)_

_Also, coming up : A new chapter of 'She Will Be Loved'. I've been slowly working on it for a while now. Just have to figure out where it stops. ;)_

_Enjoy! And welcome the holiday season!_

Dressed in comfy t-shirts and old jeans, Sandy and Kirsten left their favorite Berkeley diner. During college, they had loved eating at the cheap but tasty eatery. Now, after moving back two years ago, it was a favorite location for family nights.

But tonight it was date night that brought the couple to the restaurant. After a quick bite, they set out for the main event.

"I'm excited to be with you tonight," Sandy said softly in the car.

"Me too," Kirsten said with a smile on her face.

It had been a while since they had a date night. Even longer since they'd been to more than just dinner. It was hard to leave Sophie Rose but she was a little bit older than two now plus Ryan had such a great connection with her. They knew he would call if he truly couldn't handle it.

"I'm excited even though I know you are going to beat me."

"Sandy, it's not a competition." Really, it kind of was. But Kirsten wasn't going against Sandy as much as she was going against herself. It'd been forever since she had painted and she was concerned her talent had fallen to the wayside for too long. That she wouldn't be up to her own standards.

Despite her insecurities, she was thrilled to be with Sandy. They hadn't done something like this in far too long.

They pulled up to the building where the words 'Tipsy Easel' were scrawled beautifully on the sign.

Wanting to make-up for the 'tipsy' part of the name, Sandy opened the trunk of the car and pulled out the chilled sparkling white grape juice. Kirsten smiled widely at the gesture.

"Well, aren't you sweet?"

"Well, others will be drinking. So I wanted to give you a little something."

Kirsten gave Sandy a small peck on the lips as a thank you.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Definitely."

Sandy held the door open and they walked into the studio.

They put on their aprons and Sandy poured the juice into wine goblets. He walked to their stools which sat in front of their canvas and easels. With a smile, he offered Kirsten her glass.

"For you, beautiful."

Kirsten sipped the sweet drink before smiling at her husband. "You know, you look pretty cute in that apron."

Sandy looked down at himself and then back to his wife. "I try," he shrugged with a goofy grin.

"No," Kirsten said as she grabbed his hand. "You don't have to try." She stated matter of factly.

Before Sandy could respond, the instructor began to speak.

"Okay, everyone. Your basic colors are on the paper plate in front of you. More color is here at the front. If you need more of any color, help yourself. Tonight we will be painting a Christmas tree on a tall canvas."

She put the sample on the wall and stepped back so everyone could see.

"Now, I know this painting may look intimidating but I promise we are going to take it step-by-step and everyone will have a beautiful Christmas tree to take home."

"Yeah, right." Sandy muttered. "She hasn't seen me paint, has she, honey?"

The instructor continued. "And remember, it has to get ugly before it can become beautiful."

"Oh, Sandy, you'll do fine," Kirsten reassured him but she did have a little smile on her face. It was true that Sandy wasn't very artistic but Kirsten still didn't like him speak badly of himself.

With a bit of direction from the instructor, they began painting their backgrounds. Mixtures of green, yellow, and white filled up the canvas.

Sandy sighed, knowing this was the easy part. He mixed his paint and smoothed the brush over the white canvas, happy that he was being given something he could handle. He got a bit caught up painting and forgot about Kirsten for a moment. But before long, he looked over to her.

Her eyes were totally focused on her painting, completely lost in the colors. Completely enthralled, he watched her. He'd always enjoyed watching her work. The fact that she loved what she was doing made the sight even more gorgeous. Afraid she would catch him staring, Sandy returned to his own canvas but continued to sneak a few glances out of the corner of his eye.

Before long, their canvases were covered with color and ready to add the Christmas trees. Sandy started to feel a little overwhelmed at the tall order. Sensing her husband's feelings, Kirsten moved to stand in front of his easel.

"Your background looks great, baby," she said as she placed her hands on his shoulders.

"Yeah," he said, a little unconvinced. "That's not the part I'm concerned about."

"You'll do great." Kirsten whispered in his ear. "She'll go step-by-step."

"Even so, I've got to sit next to a professional," he teased.

Kirsten released him and turned away to wash her brushes. "I'm hardly a professional," she muttered.

Sandy gave her a look that she couldn't see with her back turned to him. He moved closer to her and put his hand on the small of her back. "You're my artist. You always have been." She smiled warmly at him.

"Thanks, Sandy," she said softly.

The instructor moved to the front of the studio and painted a line down the canvas with a light green.

"Paint a faint line like this one but try to make sure it is straight. This will be where we originate all of our branches. It doesn't need to be too dark and it doesn't need to be perfect.

"Make sure to leave space at the top and the bottom. One is for the trunk and the other is for the star. Now, starting at the top we are going to start making our curly q branches. Take your big brush and give your tree a handlebar mustache. Then move down from those two and make the next set go out a bit farther. And then, continue down your tree."

Sandy and Kirsten gingerly began on the branches.

"Oh, I murdered that," Sandy groaned as a branch showed itself to be heavy on one side.

"Oh," Kirsten said as she saw it. "Just kind of…" She tried to think of a way to describe what she was thinking. Sandy offered her his brush. Her hand effortlessly moved over the canvas and covered his mistake. "Like that."

"Thanks, sweetie," he said happily.

They continued painting branches on the barren trees. Kirsten smiled as she saw her husband using the method she had shown him earlier to cover up his frequent errors. His strong hands gently used the brush to bring the paint to life. Kirsten had to shake thoughts from her mind. Thoughts about his strong but gentle hands and what she knew him to be able to do with them.

Instead she thought about how well he wanted to do this. Kirsten wasn't sure if it was his sense of competitiveness within himself or if he was doing it all for her benefit. But it was still very sweet. She knew how lucky she was. Not many husbands would do something they didn't particularly like and weren't that great at just because their wife loved it.

Soon the branches were complete and the only thing the tree needed was highlighting and ornaments. Using some dark green and white paint, they brightened branches here and there.

"Now, ladies… and gentleman," she added quickly. "Pick out the colors for your ornaments. As you see, I've used red and yellow for the baubles but you can use any color you like. If you're feeling adventurous, break away from the baubles and create your own specialized ornaments."

"What are you going to do for ornaments?" Sandy asked.

"I'm not sure. I think I'd like to do an ornament for each of our children but I'm not sure what."

"Well… Seth loves comics, music… and Summer. And Summer loves Pancakes."

Kirsten smiled. "Ryan… is a Golden Bear-"

"The few, the proud," Sandy smirked.

"So, I could do a navy bauble with 'Cal' in yellow."

"Oh, I like that."

"I could do a gavel for you," Kirsten winked at him.

"I thought this was for the kids."

"Well, it could be for the family."

"A family tree?"

Kirsten smiled. "Yeah. So for you, gavel or bagels?"

"Oh, bagels, definitely."

"And Sophie?"

Sandy thought for a moment. "A rose?"

"Simple but I like it." Kirsten smiled, thinking of how it would include her mother as well as her daughter.

"Well, what is your ornament going to be?"

"Hmm…" she thought for a moment. "A wine glass?"

Sandy chuckled with Kirsten as they looked at one another. Even though that year would never be funny, it felt good that they had finally gotten over the subject being so taboo. It was a part of the past, a piece to be remembered but not something to rule over them. Kirsten loved that she and Sandy were comfortable enough with one another to laugh about their shortcomings.

"I think we can do better," Sandy said.

"Yeah," Kirsten agreed. "So a comic for Seth, a rose for Sophie, a bunny for Summer, and a Cal bauble for Ryan."

"A bagel for me and… a paintbrush for you?"

Kirsten smiled sweetly. "I like it. But… I don't like Ryan's."

"What? I love it."

"Of course you do. It fits the three of us so I might keep it. But it's not Ryan-specific."

"Well, no, it's not. What about one of those architecture things?"

Kirsten looked at him blankly.

"You know," Sandy said and made a signal with his hand. He held his first two fingers down and mock rotated them.

"A compass?"

"Yeah! Could you paint one of those?"

"Um… I could try. I do like the idea though."

After a few rough paintings on paper, Kirsten felt like she had a good grip on the ornament ideas. She began painting them while Sandy looked at his tree and tried to decide what to paint. He was coming up pretty blank. Just as he was about to throw whichever two colors he found first on the canvas, a thought occurred to him. He was surprised he hadn't thought of it sooner. He'd been Seth's father for how many years now?

He'd do a Chrismukkah tree. Though he would need Kirsten's help for the more intricate details, he could handle four baubles: a blue, white, red, and green.

Per Sandy's request, Kirsten leaned over to his painting and started a candy cane, a menorah, a Santa hat, and a dreidel for him.

"Now, I just have to try not to mess them up."

Kirsten smiled at his comment before returning to her tree. They both worked hard on their respective works of art. Sandy had to use all of his patience to keep his focus and not give up.

After a while, both satisfied with their work, they stepped back and admired/scrutinized their paintings.

Just as Sandy was about to rag on his own creation, he looked at Kirsten's.

"Oh, honey." He was breathless. "It's gorgeous." He put a hand around her waist, unable to keep from touching her.

They looked over the painting; Sandy, in awe of his talented wife, and Kirsten, holding her breath and waiting for him to say something. Her tree was beautifully painted and the background was perfect. But it's what filled the branches that made it a Cohen tree.

As promised, a bunny, a comic book, a rose, a compass, a bagel, and a paintbrush. But there were extras that popped up in her mind as Kirsten painted and she could not refuse them.

"A music note."

"For you and Seth, because you love music, albeit different types."

"A coffee mug because we all love coffee. And a yamaka."

"For the Nana. Even though I know women don't wear them."

"You are amazing." Sandy said, giving her a squeeze. "And is that… your dad's angel?" He asked, pointing to the ornament that resembled the real one that Kirsten had made as a child.

"Yes."

"It's perfect. The angel, the yamaka, all of it." Sandy told her. "But of course, my favorite. The mail truck with the Cal logo. Baby, you are too much."

"What can I say? I was inspired." She smiled.

"Me too," Sandy whispered with a nuzzle to her ear.

"Hey. I want to see your tree," she said, pulling away from him. She studied the painting for a moment, taking in the pretty balance of Christmas and Hanukah. "Oh, Sandy, I love it. And Seth will too! It's perfect. You had such a great idea."

"I tried," Sandy said, looking sheepish.

"No, you succeeded," she said with a smile and a hug.

After their paintings had dried, they packed them up in the trunk and stood behind the car for a moment.

"I had a good time with you tonight, Kirsten."

"I had the greatest time with you." She put her arms around his neck and held him close to her. "I love you. Thank you for reminding me how lucky I am to have you."

Sandy pulled back, looking puzzled at her statement.

"Not many husbands would have taken their wife to something like this if they had a gun to their head, much less be the one to suggest it. You are always so thoughtful and I love you for that."

"I love doing things for you, Kirsten. You don't have to act like it's a root canal or something."

Kirsten rolled her eyes. "But it's a little one sided. In Newport, you went to Newpsie functions right beside me. You brought me here tonight and painted with me."

"Hey now. Don't sell yourself short, Kirsten. In college, you helped me in the soup kitchen and eventually, you even went to some rallies with me. That's a huge deal for a Republican," he teased.

"Yeah, I still feel guilty. And I want to make that up to you."

"Oooh," Sandy said.

"Not like that."

"Oh."

"Well, not _only_ like that," she admitted. Knowing them like she did, Kirsten had a feeling they'd be doing that too. But that's not what she had meant exactly. "Our next activity you get to pick. Whatever you want."

"Anything?" Sandy asked, excited.

"Not like a threesome or anything."

"Why is that where your mind goes?" He laughed.

Kirsten shrugged. "Because you're a man."

Sandy laughed. "That's stereotyping, woman. Speaking of, shouldn't you be in a kitchen or something?" Kirsten chuckled. "But seriously, Kirsten, you are more than enough for me."

"That's good to know."

"So, if I were to pick golf, you would be okay with that."

"Yes, Sandy. Whatever you would like."

"Well, I'll give it some thought, but thank you, darling." He gave her a squeeze. "Who knows? We might just come back here. I really enjoyed this tonight."

"Me too," Kirsten smiled. "Now, let's go. I'm sure Ryan is ready to be rescued."


End file.
